Variegated ice cream comprises a base ice cream with a smaller amount of a syrup or flavoring dispersed in the ice cream to achieve a marbled effect. In particular, the syrup is not thoroughly mixed with the ice cream, but remains physically and visually distinct throughout the ice cream. The syrup or flavoring which defines the variegation typically comprises less than 20% of the total ice cream composition by weight.
It is believed that variegated ice cream has become the fourth most popular ice cream type, ranking behind vanilla, chocolate and strawberry in total sales. The most popular flavors of variegated syrup for ice cream are believed to be chocolate, butterscotch, marshmallow, fudge, coffee, strawberry, pineapple, raspberry and caramel. The popularity of these variegated ice cream type is believed to be attributable to the attractive marble-like appearance, the contrasting flavors and the distinct mouthfeel. Combinations of the above described syrups or flavors with vanilla ice cream are widely known. However, a great many other combinations are possible and are at least periodically offered by the larger manufacturers of ice cream for retail.
Variegated ice cream has only been commercially available as a hard ice cream product. Available machines for making hard ice cream are able to precisely control the amount of the variegation desired in packages ranging from pints to half gallons for most retail distribution, and in larger amounts for wholesale distribution. These large expensive machines are set to create the selected blend of a particular type of syrup or flavoring with a particular type of base for hard ice cream. The available machines do not enable switching from one syrup type to another or from one ice cream type to another. Changing from one variegated hard ice cream type to another is roughly comparable to creation of an entirely new hard ice cream product. The available equipment for producing variegated hard ice cream generally is not adapted to achieve a single serving of a variegated hard ice cream.
Soft ice cream continues to be a popular variety of ice cream. Soft ice cream is made at the site of the retail sale in a freezer machine that is operative to dispense a selected serving size in accordance with the order placed by the consumer. Soft ice cream theoretically can be manufactured in a great many different flavors. However, each soft ice cream dispensing machine typically must be dedicated to a single particular flavor of ice cream. In view of the size and cost of these machines, most retail soft ice cream facilities typically will produce only the few most popular ice cream flavors. For example, most soft ice cream retail facilities will limit their ice cream selection to vanilla and chocolate. The larger retail soft ice cream facilities may offer vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and one featured flavor which may change periodically. This very narrow range of flavor options offered by soft ice cream facilities is considered to be a major marketing disadvantage.
Some soft ice cream machines have two different reservoirs, each of which is adapted to manufacture a selected flavor of soft ice cream (e.g. vanilla and chocolate). Some of these machines are provided with a single ice cream dispensing spout. The machine may be provided with separate levers for the two respective type of soft ice cream manufactured in the machine. One such lever may direct soft ice cream from one reservoir through the dispensing spout, while the other lever may alternatively be operated to direct soft ice cream from the other reservoir through the spout. Thus, a single machine may be operated to alternatively dispense different flavors of ice cream. Some such machines are provided with a lever which causes ice cream to flow simultaneously from both reservoirs, such that a single stream composed of two ice cream flavors will be dispensed from the spout. In particular, a flow of soft ice cream will emerge from the dispenser comprised substantially one half of one flavor (e.g. chocolate) and one half of another flavor (e.g. vanilla). Although machines of this type offer some variation to the very limited choices available through soft ice cream machines, the options available with even these advanced machines are extremely limited. Furthermore, the products resulting from these machines do not define a new flavor, but rather merely produce a serving of soft ice cream formed from two ice cream flavors. Although the resulting serving is visually interesting, the resulting taste and mouthfeel is no different from sequentially operating two separate soft ice cream machines.
The operation of the above described soft ice cream machines typically may involve dispensing a small amount of ice cream to be discarded. This may be done because the temperature and atmospheric conditions immediately adjacent the dispensing spout cause the ice cream adjacent thereto to acquire a temperature and consistency different from the remainder of the ice cream. This practice is even more common in machines which are operative to dispense different flavors from a single spout, to ensure that the retail customer gets only the flavors that were requested, and not a portion of a flavor requested by the previous customer.
Soft ice cream machines have not been manufactured to produce a variegated soft ice cream. Even if the known machines for manufacturing variegated hard ice cream could be adapted for soft ice cream purposes, they would generally be commercially unacceptable in that they are dedicated machines that would unacceptable limit the types of ice cream that are offered by the soft ice cream retailer. On the other hand, the ability to readily selectively produce a plurality of different variegated soft ice cream types could be a very significant marketing advantage to soft ice cream retailers in that the soft ice cream retailers could overcome their major marketing problem of a limited product offering.
A typical prior art apparatus for creating a variegated hard ice cream product is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,720 which issued to Kinney on Jan. 30, 1979, and which achieves a variegated hard ice cream by directing a plurality of separate streams into a single channel having a pattern inserted therein with an array of dividers. The apparatus shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,720 is a dedicated device, provides no product flexibility and is not operative to create a variegated soft ice cream product comprising a flow of syrup selected from a plurality of separate reservoirs of the syrup.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,886,973 also issued to Kinney and is directed to an apparatus for producing a variegated hard ice cream product. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 3,886,973 includes a primary channel through which the ice cream may flow. A plurality of separate tubes are disposed in the primary ice cream channel to dispense a selected syrup. The reference provides no teaching of delivering the syrup from a selected one of a plurality of different syrup reservoirs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,635,825 issued to Tulasne on Jan. 13, 1987 and is directed to an apparatus which comprises a plurality of reservoirs of flavoring and a reservoir of liquid drinking yogurt, both of which are in communication with a mixer. A selected flavoring and the liquid drinking yogurt are fed into the mixer which is operative to combine the yogurt and the flavoring to create a substantially homogeneous flavored drink. The apparatus shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,635,825 does not produce a variegated product and does not provide means for simultaneously delivering a selected combination of the flavors at a plurality of locations around the central stream.
In view of the above, it is an object of the subject invention to provide an apparatus for creating and dispensing a variegated soft ice cream.
It is another object of the subject invention to provide an apparatus to be mounted onto an existing soft ice cream dispensing machine to enable the production of a variegated soft ice cream.
It is a further object of the subject invention to provide an apparatus operative to selectively enable the creation of a plurality of different variegated ice cream types from at least a single soft ice cream dispensing machine.
An additional object of the subject invention is to provide a nozzle attachment and pumping apparatus to selectively intermix any of a plurality of different flavorings and/or syrups into a stream of at least one flavor of soft ice cream.
A further object of the subject invention is to provide an apparatus which enables consumers to custom design their own variegated soft ice cream by specifying the types and amounts of syrups and the flavor of the ice cream.